Concrete form locking means



Sept. 25, 1962 w. VAN HELDEN ETAL 3,055,076

CONCRETE FORM LOCKING MEANS Filed March 5, 1958 United States Patent Ofi 3,055,075 Patented Sept. 25, 1962 ice This invention relates to a new and improved concrete form construction of the knock-down type equipped with novel locking means enabling quicker and easier setting up and taking down of the forms, besides insuring ample strength and rigidity in the form structure.

In a copending application of James C. Shoemaker, Serial No. 376,423, filed August 25, 1953, which resulted in Patent No. 2,825,956, issued March 11, 1958, there is disclosed the use of tie-wires that fit at the opposite ends in bayonet slots in one end of metal strips fastened onto the outer side of the form sections in the inner and outer Walls of the concrete form structure, and elongated tiebars or levers that are pivotally mounted on the other end of the same strips for swinging movement in planes parallel to the outer faces of the form sections and at right angles to the projecting headed ends of the tie-wires have slots in their free end portions to receive these ends, whereby to tie together the inner and outer walls of the form structure in rigidly spaced relationship, the tie-bars serving at the same time to tie together in co lanar relationship and tight abutment neighboring sections of the inner and outer walls, the form locking means thus provided permitting the setting up and taking down of forms in only a fraction of the time required with prior constructions and with a minimum amount of wear and tear on the form sections. The tie-bars are slotted vertically at their pivoted ends to permit bodily adjustment of the bars up or down to compensate for the inevitable amount of run-out from aligned relationship of the adjoining ends of the strips to be connected on neighboring form sections, and also to enable easier coupling when these strips are not in end to end abutment, and enable drawing the ends of neighboring sections tightly together.

In the improved construction of our invention the elongated tie-bars are slotted intermediate their ends to receive the projecting headed ends of the tie-wires, and are slotted also at their free ends to engage studs constituting rigid projections on the neighboring form sections so that in the drawing together of the ends of form sections the strain is assumed largely by the studs which are of larger cross-section and better adapted to assume such loading than the tie-wires, and form sections can therefore be drawn together much more tightly than would otherwise be possible. In accordance with our invention, each tie-bar preferably has two parallel slots intermediate the ends thereof, either of which is adapted to receive the headed end of a tie-wire, the slots being spaced equally on opposite sides of the plane of the joint between abutting form sections so that either of the studs which are spaced the same distance from the ends of the form sections may be used as the pivot stud, and the same tie-bars can accordingly be used on the outer and inner walls of the form structure swingable in opposite directions, and there'is avoided the problem of providing rights and lefts.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a concrete form struc- 2 above and below the plan view by face views of said tie-bars, and

FlG. 3 is a perspective view of one of said tie-bars.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout these views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numerals 4 and 5 designate theinner and outer walls, respectively, of a concrete form structure, each of these-walls being made up of a number of fairly small and light rectangular plywood sections 6, each, for example, about two feet wide and about eight feet long, the length being equivalent approximately to the depth of the basement whose walls are to be made with poured concrete. The sections 6 are disposed in-edge to edge abutting relationship and to the sections by screws 12, andare preferably ribbed lengthwise, as indicated at 13, for reinforcement thereof to help to keep the sections straight. The tie-wires 9 which extend through notches 14 provided in one vertical edge 15 of each form section are made along the lines disclosed in the copending application of James C. Shoemaker, Serial No. 708,467, filed January 13, 1958, now Patent No. 2,920,371, having at each end a portion 16 flattened in a vertical plane to define longitudinally spaced vertical shoulders 17 and 18, which, when the tie-wires are entered in bayonet slots 19' provided therefor in the ends of the strips 11, have the shoulders 17 abutting the inner side of the-strips to space the inner and outer walls of the form structure when the forms are finally locked up by means of tie-bars 10. The shoulders 18 on the tie-wires are defined behind the headed outer ends 20 of said wires and these shoulders 18 are tightly engaged by the tie-bars 10 when received in either of the vertical parallel slots 21 and 22 provided in the tie-bars interrnediate'the ends thereof, making the connection tight and rigid and at the same time holding the inner and outer walls rigidly in a predetermined spaced parallel I relationship. The slot 21 is used on the tie-bars 10 to receive the tie-wires 9 in the outer wall 5, but slots 22 are used in all of the tie-bars 10 on the inner wall 4, as

our invention because of having to provide rights and lefts, as would otherwise be necessary.

The elongated tie-bars 10 are slotted vertically of one end, as indicated at 23, for a sliding pivotal connection with the headed end of a stud 24, these studs being entered in holes 25 provided therefor in one end portion of the strips 11. The slots 23 are preferably closed at both ends to keep the tie-bars 10 assembled on'the studs 24. The otherends of the tie-bars 10 have open end vertical slots 26 provided therein to receive the headed ends of studs 27 mounted on the neighboring-form section and received in holes 28 provided therefor in the adjacent end portions of the strips 11 thereon. Thus, although the tie-wires'9 play an important part as coupling pinswhen engaged in either of the slots 21 and 22 in thetie-bars 10, the studs 27, which constitute rigid j projections on the neighboring form sections are of larger cross-section than the tie-wires and are therefore much better adapted to assume the strain incident to drawing form sections together into tight abutment, assume the major portion of the load when the tie-bars, after an initial connection with the tie-wires and studs, are hammered into their final position to draw the form sections together by a oamming action, as fully described in the copending Shoemaker application, Serial No. 376,423, filed August 25, 1953, now Patent No. 2,825,956. In other words, the elongation of slots 23 vertically has a two-fold advantage, namely, it enables shifting the bars 10 "bodily upwardly or downwardly as may be necessary to compensate for run-out of the strips 11 from aligned and coplanar relationship of the adjoining ends that are to be coupled together on neighboring [form sections, and it also-enables easier coupling where the ends of the strips 11 to be coupled together do not happen to be in abutment or close to abutment, in which case the sliding of the bar 10 downwardly in relation to the stud 24 gives a slightly longer radius that is usually enough to permit engagement of the headed end 20 of the pin 9 in the slot 21, and engagement of the stud 27 in slot 26, after which it is a simple matter to jog the bar 10 upwardly to locate the stud 24 nearer the middle of the slot 23, thereby drawing together the ends of the neighboring for-m sections by cam action of slot 23 much more tightly than would otherwise be possible. Of, course, in this drawing-together of the form sections, the major portion of the load is assumed by the studs 24 and 27, the tiewires 9 being used as coupling pins only in the initial stages of the interconnection of the neighboring form sections. It will be noticed that the slots 21, 22 and 26 all have the one side of the open end that is toward the slot '23 flared, as indicated at 29, 30 and 31, respectively, in FIG. 3, with a view to enabling easier entry of the end of the tie-wire 9 in slot 21 or 22, as the case may he, and entry of stud 27 in slot 26. The lower edge portion of the tie-bar 10 on the other side of the entrance of slots 21 and 22 is bevelled, as indicated at 32 and 33 in FIG. 3, to facilitate the inter-locking engagement of the headed end 20 ofthe tie-wire in whichever of these two slots 21 and 22 is being used.

In operation, the form structure is set up, starting from a corner and placing two of the form sections 6 in position at a time, one tor the inner wall 4- and the other for the outer wall ,5. One man can do the work easily be cause the sections 6 are all light enough to lift and move into position, one at a time, and, after the tie-wires 9 have been entered in the notches 14 with the flattened portions 16 engaged in bayonet slots 19', the workman will have no difliculty in connecting up a form section 6 with the inner or outer wall of the form structure, using the elongated tie bars 10 for this purpose in the manner described, because the mere entry of the opposite end portions of the tie-wires 9 in the slots 19 is enough to loosely tie together the free ends of the form sections of, the inner and outer walls 4 and 5, so that they are at least loosely spaced by means of the tie-wires, and the tie-wires can then serve as coupling pins to be connected to for positively pulling neighboring form sections in said walls into abutment, by swinging the tie-bars 10 downwardly into locking position. The bevels 32 and 33 adjacent the slots 21 and 22, wedgingly engage behind the heads 20 to force the strips 11 into tight abutment withthe shoulders 17 on the tie-wires, and consequently, when the tie-bars are driven home, the form sections in the inner and outer walls 4 and are rigidly spaced, and the abutting form sections in said walls are at the same time secured together tightly in coplanar abutting relationship by virtue of the double locking action obtained by engagement of the tie-wires 9 in the slots 21 or 22, and engagement of studs or-projections 27 in slots 26. If one form section 6 happens to be higher or lower than the neighboring form section, that is compensated for by virtue of slots 23 by adjusting the tie-bar 10 bodily upwardly or downwardly, as the situation requires, and, as previously pointed out, the slots 23 give the further advantage that when neighboringtorm sections are not close together enough to enable entering the end of the tiewire 9 in slot 21 or 22 and entering stud or projection 27 in slot 26, the downward movement of the slotted end of the tie-bar 10 relative to stud 24 will usually afiord enough increase in the radius from stud 24 to the outer end of the slot 21 or 22 and slot 26 to permit making the connections mentioned, and, once the headed end of the tire-wire 9 is entered in the slot 21 or 22 and stud 27 is entered in slot 26, the tie-bar 10 can then be jogged back into alignment or approximate alignment with the strips 11, and in so doing the form sections are drawn together by cam action into tight abutment by virtue of the shortening of the radius from stud 2-4 to slot 21 or 22 and slot 26. After the form structure has been erected and the concrete has been poured, and has set and dried sufiiciently so that it is safe to remove the form structure, one man can attend to this work also, because it is only necessary to loosen the tie-bars 10 and disconnect them from the headed ends 20 of the tie-wires 9, The way this loosening is most easily accomplished is by applying a wrench to the headed ends 20 of the tiewires and twisting these portions off, after which it will be found to be an easy matter to swing the tie-bars 10 up off the studs 27 by tapping the same from below with a hammer, after which the form sections can easily be pried loose from the foundation and removed. The protruding end portions of the tie-wires 9 are generally broken ofi by a twisting action with a wrench, and, to resist any tendency for the tie-wires to turn When this twisting force is applied with a Wrench, the tie-wires are, as described in the copending Shoemaker application, Serial No. 708,467, made of rectangular section. There is nonoticeable difference in the functioning of the tiehar 10 whether the slot 21 is used to receive the projecting end of the tie-wire 9, as appears in FIG. 1, where these tie-bars 10 are shown on the outer wall 5, or whether the other'slot 22 is used to receive the projecting end of the tie-wire, as seen in the upper half of FIG. 2, where the tie-bar 10 is shown on the inner wall of the form structure. This use of the same tie-bar 10 interchangeably on the inner and outer walls 4 and S of the form structure means a considerable saving in cost of production of the hardware at the outset, because it eliminates the necessity for rights and lefts, and this saving can, of course, be passed on to the purchaser and the purchaser also finds it to his advantage in setting up forms, because there is no diflerence in the procedure except that the tie-bars in the outer wall swing toward the erected form structure, whereas the tie-bars in the inner wall are on the erected form structure and swing toward the form section being placed in position. In both cases, the studs 27 take the brunt of the load in the drawing together of the neighboring form sections into tight abutment, and, inasmuch as the studs 24 and 27 are spaced to the same extent from the plane of the joint, it follows that there is the same degree of overlap of the tie-bars 10 on opposite sides of the joint between abutting sections in both walls 4 and 5, which, of course, makes for the same close coplanar relationship of form sections in both walls. That, of course, is particularly important in certain building constructions, like churches, for example, where it is particularly important that the inside wall surface of the poured foundation be as smooth as possible, with the joint lines as unnoticeable as possible.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. Theappendedclaims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

We claim:

1. A concrete form structure for construction of a poured concrete wall comprising spaced parallel inner and outer walls, each made up of a plurality of sections of rectangular form disposed in coplanar edge to edge abutting relation to define joints, the joints in the outer wall being in coplanar relation with joints in the inner wall, means for rigidly spacing said inner and outer walls comprising a tie-Wire extending therebetween in right angle relation thereto and protruding through the joints between abutting sections of both walls, said tie-wire having heads provided on the ends thereof, open-end bayonet slot means on the abutting edge portion of one of said form sections in each joint to receive the headed ends of said tie-Wire, whereby said tie-wire is located spaced in the same direction relative to the joint between the abutting sections in both walls and is detachably but rigidly connected with said form sections, an elongated tie-bar on the outer side of each of said walls pivoted at one end on one of said abutting form sections in spaced relationship to the form abutting edge thereof, each tie-bar having intermediate the ends thereof two substantially parallel slots provided therein spaced equally from the middle of said tie-bar the same distance both ways from the joint between abutting sections in both walls and extending from one longitudinal edge, whereby said tie-bars may be used interchangeably on the outer side of either of said walls, one of said slots in one of said tie-bars receiving one of the headed ends of said tie-wire therein, and the other of said slots in the other of said tie-bars receiving the other headed end of said tie-wire therein, said tie-bars each having another slot provided in the end portion remote from the pivoted end parallel to the other slots and extending from the same longitudinal edge of said tiebars, and a rigid projection on one of the two abutting form sections in both of said walls arranged to be received in the last mentioned slots in said tie-bars to complete the fastening of the form sections together in both walls.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tiewire has a shoulder thereon spaced inwardly from the head on each end for abutment with the bayonet slot means, and each of said tie-bars has one side of the entrance of each of the slots flared, namely, the side toward the pivoted end of said tie-bars, to facilitate entry of the tie-wire and projections in said slots, the other side of the entrance of each of the tie-wire receiving slots being tapered toward the longitudinal edge for a wedging action behind the heads on said tie-wires to aid in tightly fastening the end portions of said tie-wires.

3. A structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tiebar pivot and the slot in the remote end are substantially evenly spaced from the middle of the tie-bars which are disposed at the joints between abutting sections in said walls, whereby there is equal overlapping of the two sections in both walls by said bars for better alignment of the form sections.

4. A structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tiewire has a shoulder thereon spaced inwardly from the head on each end for abutment with the bayonet slot means, and each of said tie-bars has one side of the entrance of each of the slots flared, namely, the side toward the pivoted end of said tie-bars, to facilitate entry of the tie-wire and projections in said slots, the other side of the entrance of each of the tie-wire receiving slots being tapered toward the longitudinal edge for a wedging action behind the heads on said tie-wires to aid in tightly fastening the end portions of said tie-wires, each of said tie-bars having an elongated slot provided therein in the pivoted end thereof slidably receiving the pivot substantially parallel to the other slots, whereby to permit drawing the form sections in both Walls together by cam action by transverse movement of the ends of said tie bars after the form sections have been connected by means of said tiebars.

5. A concrete form structure for construction of a poured concrete wall comprising spaced parallel inner and outer walls, each made up of a plurality of sections of rectangular form disposed in coplanar edge to edge abutting relation to define joints, the joints in the outer wall being in coplanar relation with joints in the inner wall, means for rigidly spacing said inner and outer walls comprising a tie-wire extending therebetween in right angle relation thereto, said tie-wire having heads provided on the ends thereof, open-end bayonet slot means on the abutting edge portions of one of said form sections in each joint to receive the headed ends of said tie-wire, whereby said tie-wire is located spaced in the same direction relative to the joint between the abutting sections in both walls and is detachably but rigidly connected with said form sections, an elongated tie-bar on the outer side of each of said walls pivoted at one end on one of said abutting form sections in spaced relationship to the form abutting edge thereof, each tie-bar having intermediate the ends thereof two substantially parallel slots provided therein spaced equally the same distance both ways from the joint between abutting sections in both walls and extending from one longitudinal edge, whereby said tie-bars may be used interchangeably on the outer side of either of said walls, one of said slots in one of said tie-bars receiving one of the headed ends of said tie-wire therein, the other of said slots in the other of said tie-bars receiving the other headed end of said tie-wire therein, said tiebars each having another slot provided in the end portion remote from the pivoted end parallel to the other slots and extending from the same longitudinal edge of said tie-bars, and a rigid projection on one of the two abutting form sections in both of said walls arranged to be received in the last mentioned slots in said tie-bars to complete the fastening of the form sections together in both walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,731,238 French et al. Jan. 17, 1956 2,776,464 Stewart Jan. 8, 1957 2,825,956 Shoemaker Mar. 11, 1958 OTHER REFERENCES Article in Construction Methods and Equipment, New Form Eliminates Wales, March 1957, pages 187 and 190, published by McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Inc., New York, NY. 

